XCritic Interviews

AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2013: The Wrap Up

by Alexander 'Ebert of Smut' E.

Every January, the fine folks of the San Fernando Valley pack their bags and head for Las Vegas, as Adult Video News brings their infamous Adult Entertainment Expo. For the second straight year, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino hosted the adult expo inside The Joint. This time around, XCritic had five(!) staff members covering every aspect of the expo, with Sean DPS and Porno Nerd partnered up for stills and interviews. Rob Perez worked tirelessly on interviewing as many ladies as possible and never skipped on the chance on interviewing talent. This year around, I was highly selective on who to interview, as appointments are never kept because of the chaotic nature of the show floor. Nevertheless, the XCritic team produced over 1500 stills and countless video interviews. I will highlight some of the best interviews and stills from the four day event.

Day 1: January 16, 2013 (Press Day)

Press day is undeniably the best day to get as much content as possible. The lines are short; it's easy to maneuver on the show floor, and you have the whole week in front of you. After grabbing my press pass the day before and running into Max Hardcore, I made my way inside the venue. Manwin took over the hallway with their collection of brands, starting with Digital Playground, Brazzers, MOFOS, and their latest acquisition, Reality Kings. Digital Playground had almost no lines, which is rare, so I jumped at the chance to snap pics of the contract girls, including Bibi Jones, Kayden Kross, and Selena Rose. Digital Playground always brings a glass counter full of movies for sale, but nothing caught my eye, as I had reviewed many of their movies in the past year. There were plenty of Brazzers and MOFOS girls signing throughout the weekend with movies for sale as well. After making my way down the hall, I went into the main show room with Jules Jordan Video, Evil Angel, and Elegant Angel being the most (and only) prominent production companies. Each booth had its respective talent and it was the perfect opportunity to grab signatures and some stills.

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Day 2: January 17, 2013 (Day 2)

Let the chaos begin. Day 2 is open to the general public and that's when the madness begins. I was in no

rush to be there as the doors opened because I knew I'd be on my feet until 7pm. Once I made my way inside, I headed to the main show room and found myself at Elegant Angel. The crowds were no surprise, especially when you're the favorite studio in the industry. I made my way to the front of the booth and shot as much as I could with Ms. Buttwoman herself, Jada Stevens. Jada was wearing a Catwoman-like black suit and looked incredible. Consequently, it was no surprise that Jada had one of the longer lines at the Elegant booth. After saying what's up to Roy and Potter of the Elegant Angel Podcast, I attempted to get out of the chaos known as Elegant Angel. As I wondered around, I ran into one of my all-time favorite performers, Gianna Michaels. Gianna has limited herself to only working for her website, yet she looks as good as ever. Luckily I had plenty of Gianna DVD covers and she didn't mind signing a few before going on her break. Afterwards, I headed towards Evil Angel where I got to speak with Brooklyn Lee and Kelly Divine. Brooklyn isn't a performer I've had the opportunity to watch, but was surprisingly friendly and had many kinds words to say about XCritic. Kelly Divine is one of my favorite performers, especially after her knockout performance in Kelly Divine is Buttwoman', yet she was nowhere to be seen last year. However, this year she was signing for Evil Angel and I made it a personal goal to get an interview before the end of the week. Kelly and I arranged to meet up the next day after she was done signing. I moved on to Skin Diamond and afterwards went to the adjoining room, which had tons of talent from L.A. Direct Models. I ran into such girls as Gia Steel, Isis Taylor, and Asphexia Noir, all of which who looked great. This year, AVN did something rather interesting, they held movie screenings of AVN nominated 'Wasteland' and 'Star Wars XXX'. I never got a chance to see 'Wasteland' so I made it a point to attend the screening. I will admit it was rather strange to see a porn with such a big crowd, but it was great seeing 'Wasteland' on the big screen and hope to see AVN host more screenings in the future.

Day 3: January 18, 2013 (Day 3)

JULES JORDAN INTERVIEW

It's Friday. AEE is in full swing and the fans were out in droves. A complete madhouse. The Digital Playground hallway was crowded and so was every crevice of the show. I didn't wait around for any specific girl to get pictures, I simply walked the floor and took any opportunity that came my way. I found my way into FanFest and the first girl I ran into was Trinity St. Claire, whose given great performances in several New Sensations/Digital Sin flicks. Bonnie Rotten has quickly become a fan favorite in a short amount of time and with good reason, as all it takes is one second to appreciate the tattooed starlet. As I circled FanFest, I ran into the always sexy Jessica Bangkok. Jessica always welcomes me with open arms and updates me on projects she's working on. Jessica's biggest endeavor in the past year has been her weekly radio show that can be herad on the Playboy/Sirius network. Angelina Castro, the busty Latina who made headlines after a Twitter pledge to give NBA fans free blowjobs, made an appearance with Sara Jay at the VNA booth. A few shots of Angelina and I made my way back to the main floor. As I circled around Adam & Eve, I saw someone talking to Alexis Texas and it turned out to be Pauly Shore. Yes, that Pauly Shore. The weasel. The Comedy Store in L.A. And yes, Mr. Son in Law himself. As rediculious as his movies are, I'm a big fan of Pauly and it was a real treat being able to shoot a few stills of Pauly conversing with Alexis. Once Pauly began to move, I spotted Teagan Presley who looked quite stunning, and was more than willing to pose for a few pictures. I finished the day by catching a bit of Star Wars XXX which was being screened next door. The room was absolutely packed and was standing only by the time I got there -- only at AVN.

Day 4: January 19, 2013 (Day 4)

KELLY DIVINE INTERVIEW

It's the last day of AEE and you can feel it. Prices are slashed at merch booths and there's a rush to see your favorite porn girl before your time is up. I walked by the AVN table and had been eyeing a AVN AEE 30 Year Anniversary shirt and when I heard the staff member say, "last one!", I rushed over and coughed up my $20. A moment later someone behind me tried purchasing one and was told "sold out". I wasn't able to capture much content as many of the girls tend to leave early to beegin getting ready for their walk on the red carpet. With less than 10 minutes until the show officially closes, I head over to Evil Angel and hope Kelly Divine is still there and willinig to do the interview. She's finishing up her last few autographs and sees me and is more than willing to shoot the interview. As Evil Angel fans snatch up as many DVDs, magazines, and sex toys as possible, we make the space work and shoot right inside the Evil Angel shop. As tiring as a four day convention can be, Kelly doesn't show it and gives me nothing but enthusiasm. I have a ten minute interview in mind but time is not on my side. I throw out about half my questions and go with as much as I can. I incoropate her new compilation for Evil Angel, as well as her relationship with the infamous production company, as well as her experience in last year's Kelly Divine is Buttwoman. I extract as much as I can from Kelly and she delievers with great energy. I begin to wrap up the interview as I know she needs to get back to her room for the big night. Kelly keeps her promise and gives me my intereview. I stop recording and security begins to fade the lights and escort people out of the expo. As I make my final round of the room, I stop at Elegant Angel and stop and talk to Roy and Potter. The guys look exhausted and ready for a drink.. or several. Potter doesn't let me leave without a copy of Wasteland and we make plans to catch a drink after Elegant Angel sweeps the awards.

Day 4: January 19, 2013 (Day 4, Part II: AVN Awards)

It's Saturday night and the AVN Awards are upon us. It's the 30 year anniversary of what is the biggest night in adult entertainment. My fellow XCritic colleagues, Sean DPS and Porno Nerd were only able to secure one press pass. As a result, they offered me the press pass yet they would still attend the awards. I asked Sean and Porno Nerd to reconsider but they insisted I take the pass. I knew by taking the pass I would really have to deliver not only for XCritic, but for Sean and Porno Nerd who sat out on covering the red carpet. With the awards scheduled to start at 9pm, media check in was at 5pm, with the red carpet beginning at 6pm. If you want to capture any worthwhile shots, it's a must to be there precisely at 5pm to claim your spot. After securing my space, there's nothing to do for the next hour but wait and stand on your feet. Fortunately, Rob Perez was also taking stills and kept me company as we did nothing but wait. I saw many familiar faces from previous years including Jeff Kogna, who shoots great stuff for Fleshbot and other highly-respected websites. At 6pm, James Deen and Stoya were the first to stroll down the red carpet. For the next two and a half hours, I shot until my legs and back were aching, but never stopped. The biggest names in adult made their way down the carpet, including: the girls of Digital Playground, Jules Jordan, John Stagliano, Manuel Ferrara, Riley Reid, Adrianna Luna, Alexis Texas, Lisa Ann, rapper Tyga, and the list goes on and on. For almost three hours, I shot over 500 pictures, some good and some bad. In an effort to be considerate, I condensed my gallery to a little more than 200 pictures. Every red carpet has a few surprises, and this year it was Robin Leach and a group member of Wu-Tang Clan. The red carpet is a one-of-a kind experience, yet there's always that one inconsiderate jerk who gets in your space, bumps into you, and has no common courtesy. Nevertheless, these types of people never last, they come in with their video camera, make "ooooh yea" sounds and leave within minutes. As the red carpet came to a close, it was much more organized than the previous year, as they limited the amount of talent allowed to walk the carpet, which is a smart move on AVNs part. After packing up my gear, I saw that Ivan was hanging around with Christy Mack. Ivan is someone I met years ago and is a great friend, who always keeps in touch. We talked for a bit and he introduced me to Christy. The two waited to be interviewed by the AVN hosts and I headed to the AVN Awards. Although I received a ticket to the show, it was standing only and I wasn't sure how much more I could stand. The Joint was packed and the standing room also hosted the bar and was packed with industry people. How often do you get to see Steve Hirsch waiting for a bartender to serve him his drinks? I tried finding a place to sit but with no luck, I contemplated leaving. I told myself I'd wait until Asa hit the stage and kick off the awards. Instead of Asa, rapper Tyga got things going by doing "Rack City" and the place went nuts. It was a great introduction to the awards show. As he finished his two songs, I picked up a show program and started making my way out. I was exhausted and with nowhere to sit, I headed back to my hotel room. As I walked back to my room, I was reminded of what my friend Jeff Koga says after every red carpet, "we survived the trenches once again." And like that, AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2013 came to a close.